Electric sadiron



1936- E. D. PERRY 2,041,429

ELECTRIC SADIRON Filed Oct. 51, 1952 21 (3M 2W I i HA)" 211 4 I evry.

' ATTORNE Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES ELECTRIC SADIRON Edward 1 Perry, Watertown, Conn., assignor to The Beardsley & Wolcott Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn a corporation of Connecticut Application October 31, 1932, Serial No. 640,383

3 Claims.

This invention relates to electrically heated flat irons or sad-irons, and more particularly to the type having a metal sole-plate and an attached stand adapted to hold the iron in an upright position when not in use.

' One object of this invention is to provide an electric sad-iron of the above nature in which the weight is concentrated near the toe" or point of the iron where the greatest working pressure is required.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature, in which the heat supply will also be concentrated at the front part of the iron where the greatest amountof heat is needed.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature, which may be placed upright upon its rear end in an elevated position to avoid scorching the surface upon which it rests.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature, which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate, ornamental in appearance and very emcient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of an electric sad-iron embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a half sectional plan view of the same, the lower part of said figure showing a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-4 in Fig. l, and the upper part a view of the interior of the iron with the handle and hood removed.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the use of sad-irons of the conventional type, it has been found that most of the work is performed by that part of the surface which lies toward the point or toe of the iron, so that in order to obtain the best results it is necessaryto concentrate the working pressure on the forward Dart. It has also been found that the non-uniformly distributed demand for heat tends to produce an uneven temperature of the sole-plate, with the result that while at the point of maximum duty the surface may be too cool to perform its proper function, other parts of the sole plate may become so hot as to scorch or burn the fabric being ironed.

It is customary in many electric sad-irons to attach a metal bracket at the rear of the hood, which, together with a projection on or near the plug-guard, forms a stand upon which the iron may be rested in an upright position when not in use. Owing to the heat conductivity of the metal of which these parts are usually constructed there go is a tendency for the supporting points to become overheated, so that the iron may scorch or burn the surface upon which it rests.

The present invention overcomes the above and other disadvantages by the provision of a specially shaped filler-weight orv block, having its center of gravity located well forward and having a V-shaped fiat heating element located in grooves in the base of said block.

Referring now to the drawing, in which like reference numbers denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, the numeral ID indicates a metal sole plate made relatively thin so as to facilitate the flow of heat into the material being ironed, said sole plate being secured in position' onthe lower side of a filler block 15, as by bolts II and i2. The bolts Ii and i2 are preferably attached to the sole-plate ill by spinning or staking a pair of upstanding annular ribs I3 and M inwardly upon the conical heads of the bolts H and i2, as fully described in a co-pending application for Letters Patent, Serial Number 554,-

Resting upon and in intimate thermal contact with the sole plate in is a relatively heavy metal filler-block or weight i5, having perforations for receiving the bolts ii and i2, and also having upon its lower surface a V-shaped shallow groove is adapted to receive a V-shaped flat heating element I! to be described later, The filler-block i5 has a deep stepped longitudinal recess H8 in its upper rear part and slopes downwardly from front to rear. so that the center of gravity of the iron will lie well forward of the longitudinal center, and the weight of the block will be concem trated toward the point of the iron. A bridge piece l9 formed from relatively. stiff metal is adapted to rest upon fiat seats formed in the upper surface of the filler-block and is engaged by the bolts H and I2 which pass through holes therein near its ends. Nuts 20 and 2| serve to retain the bridge piece i9 securely upon the fillerblock l5, and at the same time serve to clamp it tightly against the sole plate iii.

The heating element ll consists of a flat ribbon 22 of michrome wire or the like, wound upon a narrow V-shaped strip or core 23 of refractory electrically insulating material such as mica, and adapted to lit in the groove IS on the lower side of the filler block i5. Secured above and below the core strips 23 are a pair of thin plates of mica 24, preferably made slightly wider than the core strips 23, said plates 24 serving to provide electrical insulation between the conducting ribbon 22 and adjacent metal parts of the iron sole plate l0 and the filler-block l5. By reason of the V-shaped construction of the heating element [1, as shown in the drawing, it will be seen that there is developed greater intensity of heat per unit area of the sole-plate l0 toward the "toe" of the iron than toward its heel". Also due to the shape of the filler-block, a greater amount of heat will be stored at the front than at the rear of the iron.

Automatic control of the temperature of the sad-iron is effected by means of a thermostat 25 positioned in the recess I8, said thermostat consisting of a lower horizontal bimetallic contact arm 26 and an upper metal spring 2? interleaved with insulating plates 2& and secured to a boss 29 on the filler-block l5, as by screws 30. Coacting electrical contacts 32 and 32 carried upon the bentover extremity of the arm 26 and the end of the spring 21 respectively, are disposed in such a manner that as the temperature of the bimetallic arm 26 rises, the contacts 3! and 32 are caused to separate from each other, thus opening the heating circuit. Regulation of the temperature of the iron is effected by means of an adjusting screw 33, threadedly engaged with the bridge-piece IS with its point bearing upon an insulated abutment 3d mounted upon the metal spring 21. The adjusting screw 33 projects upward and terminates in a handle 35 secured in place as by a screw 36. The handle 35 is adapted to be manually rotated to change the setting of the spring 21 in relation to the contact arm 26, thus varying the temperature at which the contacts 3| and 32 of the thermostat will separate.

In order to form a cover for the filler-block [5, the bridge-piece IS, the thermostat 25, and associated parts, provision is made of a thin stamped metal hood 3?, the bottom edge of which is adapted to fit against the edge of the sole-plate IO, said hood being firmly held in position by screws 38 passing through the hood and threadedly engaged with the bridge piece iii.

For the purpose of establishing electrical connection between the heating element and the outside circult, provision is made of a pair of contact pins 39, mounted at the rear end of and passing through perforations in the hood 31, to which they are secured as by nuts 40. Insulation is provided by washers M of mica or the like. The spacing of the pins 39 is such as to fit a conventional standard socket (not shown) connected to a source of current.

The electrical parts within the sad-iron are connected by suitable conductors 42 in such a manner as to place the heating element 17, the thermostat 25 and the contact pins 39 in series.

Mounted upon the exterior top surface of the hood 31, and secured thereto as by the screws 38, is a formed substantially U-shaped metal frame 43, which, in turn, supports a tubular handle 44 of wood or similar thermal insulating material held in position by a bolt 45 and nut 45a. In order to secure a good operating balance, the handle 44 is positioned well forward, so that its middle point will come substantially in a perpendicular line above the center of gravity G of the assembled sad-iron.

Secured to the upper part of the rear end of the hood 31, is an elliptical metal guard member 45, surrounding the projecting contact pins 39 in such a manner as to form a housing for the electrical socket, and said guard member is prevented from displacement by a forwardly extending upturned lip or hook member 4! engaging in a slot 48 formed in the rear arm of the U- shaped frame 43. Projecting rearwardly and upwardly from the guard member 45 is an inclined tongue 49 formed integral therewith and having ace-i a vertical upper end 56 upon which is secured, as by a bolt a knob 52 of wood or similar thermal insulating material, adapted to form one element of a three-point support for the iron when tipped backward into an upright position. The other two elements of the three-point support are formed by a pair of enlarged ends and 5 of a spool" 55 of wood or the like, said spool being mounted in an inclined bracket 55 formed integral with the rear end of the hood 3?. The knob 52 and spool 55 are so positioned relatively to one another that the plane A--A (Fig. 1) is intersected at a point B by a line (3-3 drawn perpendicular thereto through the center of gravity G of the sad-iron, said line lying well within the triangle formed by the three supporting points 52, 53 and 56, thus assuring a stable support for the sad-iron when placed in a vertical position with the line A-A lying on a horizontal surface, when out of use.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for purposes of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In an electric flat-iron, a thin electrically heated metal sole plate adapted toconduct heat rapidly into the work being ironed, means for electrically heating said sole plate, a filler block resting on said sole plate and having a high forward section and a downwardly tapering rear section whereby the center of gravity of the iron will be located well forward of the center of the iron, and a horizontal hand grip secured to said iron with its center located directly above the center of gravity of the iron whereby the iron will be perfectly balanced and will not produce fatigue in the users hand during use.

2. In an electric flat-iron, an electrically heated metal sole plate adapted to conduct heat into the work being ironed, means for electrically heating said sole plate, a filler block resting upon said sole plate and having a high forward section and a downwardly tapering rear section, whereby the center of gravity of the iron will be located well forward of the center of the iron, and a horizontal handle secured to said iron with its center located directly above the center of gravity of the iron, whereby the iron will be perfectly balanced and will not produce fatigue in the users hand during use.

3. In an electric fiat-iron, an electrically heated metal sole plate adapted to conduct heat into the work being ironed, means for electrically heating said sole plate, a filler block resting upon said sole plate and having a high forward section and a downwardly tapering rear section, whereby the center of gravity of the iron will be located well forward of the center of the iron, and a substantially horizontal handle secured to said iron with its center located substantially directly above the center of gravity of the iron, whereby the iron will be perfectly balanced and will not produce fatigue in the users hand during use.

EDWARD D. PERRY. 

